Apparatus for working sheet metal articles having closed bottoms



Feb. 4, 1941'.

c. CLARK 2,230,560

ES HAVING CLOSED BOTTOMS APPARATUS FOR WORKING SHEET METAL ARTICL Original Filed Aug. 6, 1956 INVEX TOR.

Patented F ch. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES APPARATUS FOR. WORKING SHEET METAL ARTICLES HAVING CLOSED BOTTOMS Carl L. Clark, Warren, Ohio Original application August 6, 1936, Serial No.

94,598. Divided and this application November 1, 1937, Serial No. 172,102

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in machines adapted for rolling in or reducing the diameter of the open end portion of drawn or welded cylindrical sheet metal shells having closed bottoms and particularly to methOds and apparatus for accomplishing such reductions. These methods are described in detail in my copending application, Serial Number 94,598, filed Aug. 6, 1936 (Patent No. 2,206,296, granted July 2, 1940), of which this application is a division.

Present methods of reducing the open end portion of cylindrical metallic shells to a diameter smaller than that of the original shell consist of either spinning, which is a slow operation, or by the use of a roll contacting the outside surface of the shell and moving radially toward the center of the shell. This second method requires the use of a clamp ring, or equivalent, around the shell adjacent to the rolled-in portion to prevent bulging and furthernecess'itates the use of an appreciable width of stock at the open end of the shell, beyond the rolled-in portion, to prevent buckling of the flange. This metal must be trimmed off and discarded thereby causing a substantial loss in material.

It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide improvements in rolling machines suitable for closing in the open end porttion of cylindrical metalic shells having closed bottoms and preferably having outward turned annular flanges at the open ends, which improvements provide .a rapid and economical means to accomplish this closing-m.

A further object of the present invention is to effect economy in the amount of material required to close-in or reduce the diameter of the open end portion of cylindrical closed-bottom shells, because after closing-in my invention obviates the necessity of retrimming the open end and therefore discarding metal as required by previous known methods.

The present invention may be defined as embodying an apparatus to' operate upon cylindrical metal shells having closed bottoms with outward turned annular flanges at the open ends in which the bottom portion of the shell is clamped in a chuck to hold the shell against axial and radial movement, to support the open end portion of the shell on a roll positioned to contact the inside face of the shell on a line spaced from the open end of the shell, to grip the flanged end portion of the shell between two rolls one of which is radially yieldable with respect to the shell, and moving the last two rolls in unison radially with respect to the shell to close-in the open end portion and simultaneously rotating said last two rolls, thereby causing the shell to rotate about its axis during the interval said rolls grip or are in contact with the shell. v

The particular features of my apparatus will appear in the following description in which preferred embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming part thereof, in which Fig. 1 is a partial side view of a rolling ma chine for rolling open ends of cylindrical shells, showing the machine in vertical section;

Fig. 2 is a detailed cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2-2-2 of Fig. -1;

Fig. 3 is a partial plan view of themachine;

Fig. 4 is a detailed cross-sectional view along line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a detailed cross-sectional view along line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a partial in Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing a variation in the top roll 5|, the modification of the roll comprising a groove designed to reecive an outwardly turned flange on shell 51.

Figure 1 shows the cylindrical shell 51 with the open end closed in. Shell 51 is located in position by means of plate 58 and pusher plate 59 which hold the shell firmly in place and rotate therewith. Roll 54 is mounted to rotate sectional view of the rolls freely on shaft 60 which in turn is firmly attached to bracket 61. Bracket 61 is attached to bracket 66 which is attached firmly to the frame of the rolling machine. Roll 54 determines the contour of the rolled in end of shell 51. Roll 5| is mounted on shaft 50 and rotates therewith. Shaft 50 is driven by a source of power and through a mechanism not shown but which is conventional for'machines of the general type shown. Shaft 50 is mounted in yoke 56 so that its axis is parallel to the axis of shell 51. The yoke 56 is mounted on columns 68 and 69, one each of which is shown at the left hand end of the yoke 56 while the other two columns, not shown, are positioned similarly at the right hand end. Columns 68 and 69 are slidably mounted in the frame of the machine and guide the movement of yoke '56 radially with respect to shell 51. Their axes are positioned at right angles to the axis of shaft 50.

Yoke 10 is attached to the lower ends of the. four columns 68 and 69 and moves therewith.

:ment is accomplished either by an air cylinder Only the left end portion of this yoke is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 but the other end is substantially identical in design. Yoke H is actuated by cams only one of which is shown, the other cam, not shown, being positioned at the right end of the machine. Cams II are mounted on shaft 12 which is driven by a source of power .and through a mechanism not shown. It is apparent that, as shaft 12 rotates, yoke 10, columns 68 and 69 and yoke 56 move alternately upward and downward thus causing roll 5| to move toward and away from shell 51.

Roll is attached to shaft 52 and rotates with it. Shaft 52 is driven through universal joints and shaft 6| by means of a source of power and through a mechanism not shown. Shaft 52 is carried by yoke 53 which is guided on the two vertical columns 68 and 69 positioned at the left hand end of the machine, and is cushioned through strut member 64 and air cylinder which is. mounted on an extension of the frame of the machine so that roll 55is urged against the inside face of shell 51.. Roll 55, during the rolling operation, moves with yoke 53 radially with respect to shell 51, and is limited in its upward travel so that its extreme upposition is as shown in Fig. 6.

Roll 62 attached to and rotating with shaft 50. and roll 63 attached to and rotating with shaft 52 act to balance the eccentric loading on shaft 64 caused by pressure from roll 5| acting on roll 55.

The machine is operated in the following manner:

Preparatory to the rolling-in operation suitable rolls 5| and 54 are selected to give the contour desired to the closed in end portion of the shell and are mounted on shafts 50 and 60. respectively. Clamping plate 59 is moved axially away from plate 58 and roll 5| is moved to the up-position shown dotted in Fig. 1, to permit the placing of shell 51 in the machine. When the shell 5! is placed in rolling position, plate 59 is returned to clamping position which movedown radially with respect to the shell 51 and engages the outside face of the shell as shown in Figures 6 and 7. As this radial movement of roll 5| continues, roll 55 is caused to firmly contact the inside face of the shell because its radial movement toward the axis of shell 51 is resisted by the pressure in air cylinder 65 acting against the piston attached to the lower end of strut member 64, which in turn is attached to yoke 53. It is thus apparent thatrolls 5| and 55 *hold the open end portion of the shell securely as they move radially together toward the axis of the shell, thereby preventing wrinkles forming in the open end portion as they close in said end portion aboutthe face and edge of roll 54. The rolling-in is completed when the position shown in Fig. 1 is reached or when the edge of the shell is rolled inward until it projects inward toward the axis of the shell .as may be expedient dependingupon subsequent. curling operations required to roll the edge of the shell to the shape desired.

Upon completion of the flanging operation, clamping plate 59 moves to the left and roll 5| moves to the up-position away from the shell, and the clutch, previously mentioned for engaging shaft 12 with a source of power, is disengaged either automatically or by manual means thereby allowing the roll 5| to remain in the up-position while the rolled-in shell is removed and another placed in the machine ready for rolling.

While the rolling machine shown is of the horizontal type, the method is equally well adapted to rolling machines with vertical shafts.

The mechanism shown for lowering and raising roll 5| with shaft 50 can vary from that shown. For instance hydraulic cylinders and controls could be used instead. Further, a spring could be substituted for air cylinder 65.

Further, it is evident that roll 5|, either without. or with the groove, as shown in Fig. '7 can be made without the hub. portion of reduced diam! eter.

The scope of the inventionis not limited to any of the details shown. or described but. includes. such embodiments of the broad idea, as fall with in the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim;

1. In a metal working machine the diameter of the open end portion of cylin-. drical metallic shells having closed bottoms and outwardly turned annular flanges at the open ends thereof, the combination including: means to hold a shell against. radialv and axial move-.3

ment; a, supporting roll adapted to contact the inside face of theshell; a pressure roll adapted to contact the inside face of theshell from the open end thereof to a point. adjacent to the supporting roll; a shaft carrying said pressure. roll and having the axis thereof disposediparallel' to the axis, of the shell; apressure device mount-. ed on a stationary Dart. of the machine. and

adapted to support said shaft and to urge said pressure roll against the shell, and to guide said roll as it moves radially relatively to the shell; a forming roll adapted to engage the outside face of the shell at the open end portion; means for moving the forming roll radially with respect. to the shell and radially relatively to the pressure roll to cause said forming rollandthe pressure roll to coact during a portion of said movement to close in the open end of the shell about, the face and one edge, of the supporting roll;

and means for. rotating said; forming and pressure rolls thereby causing the shell to rotate about its axis during the interval said; rolls grip the shell and, move in unison. radially thereto,

said pressure. roll being c.aused;to yield'radially with respect to. the shell bythe; pressure exerted through the forming roll duringsaid last; named closing in.

2. In a. metal working machine for reducing the diameter of the open end portion of-cylindrical metallic shells having. closed bottoms-and;

outwardly turned flanges at the open ends thereof, the combination including; means to holdthe the inside face, of theshell from the-open; end 1 thereof to a pointadjacentt thesupporting roll; a shaft carrying said pressure roll andhavfor reducing ing the axis thereof disposed parallel to that of the shell; a pressure device mounted on a stationary part of the machine and adapted to support said shaft and to urge said pressure roll against the shell and to guide said roll to move radially relatively to the shell; a forming roll grooved to receive the outwardly turned flange of the shell and arranged to coact with the pressure roll .and the supporting roll to reduce the diameter of the open end portion of said shell; means for moving the forming roll radially with respect to the shell; and means for rotating the forming and pressure rolls thereby causing the shell to rotate about its axis during the interval said rolls jointly grip the open end portion thereof and move in unison radially with respect to said shell, said pressure roll being caused to yield radially with respect to the shell by the pressure exerted through the forming roll during said last named closing in.

3. A rolling machine for reducing the diameter of the open end portion of a cylindrical metallic shell having a closed bottom and an outturned annular flange at the open end, including the combination of: .means for holding a shell at the bottom portion against radial and axial movement, said means including an abutting member and a clamping member; a frame; a supporting roll held against radial and axial movement and arranged to contact the inside face of the shell on a line spaced from the open end thereof; a shaft on which said roll is rotatably mounted; a bracket carrying said shaft,

said bracket being attached to said frame; a pair of rolls, one of which is designated a forming roll and the other a pressure roll the axes of which are disposed parallel to that of the supporting roll; means for rotating said pair of rolls; a movable member carrying the forming roll said member being mounted for radial movement relative to the shell; guiding means comprising a plurality of columns to guide said radial movement of said movable member, said columns being slidably mounted in said frame and fixedly attached at the upper ends thereof to said movable member; yielding means mounting the pressure roll for radial movement relative to the shell; and means attached to the lower ends of said columns for radially moving the forming roll radially with respect to the shell and radially toward the pressure roll to grip the open end of the shell therebetween and thereafter for moving radially said pair of rolls in unison to reduce the diameter of said open end portion of the shell about the edge of the supporting roll, said pressure roll, during said last named reducing of the diameter of said shell, being caused to yield radially relative thereto by the pressure exerted through said forming roll.

4. Apparatus for cold Working the open end portion of a sheet metal articlehaving a closed bottom including: a plurality of rolls; means for rotating the rolls; means for moving one of said rolls, designated a forming roll, radially with respect to the article and radially toward .a second designated a pressure roll, to grip the open end portion of the article therebetween and thereafter for moving radially said forming and pressure rolls in unison; yielding means mounting said pressure roll for radial movement relatively to the article, the axis of said yielding means being disposed at right angles to the axis of the article, and said pressure roll being positioned eccentrically with reference to said axis of the yielding means; and a pair of counterbalancing rolls, one of which is mounted axially with said pressure roll and positioned eccentrically to the axis of said yielding means, and the other mounted axially with the forming roll and in alignment with the first named counterbalancing roll to counterbalance the eccentric loading of said yielding means caused by the pressure of said pressure roll against the article; and a third roll positioned to engage the inside face of the article on a line spaced from the open end thereof, said roll being held against axial and transverse movement; said forming and pressure rolls in their joint radial movement reducing the diameter of the open end portion of the article by pressure working adjacent to said third roll, said pressure roll during said working being caused to yield radially relatively to said article by the pressure exerted through the forming roll.

CARL L. CLARK. 

